With Slowdive reformed and about to release their fourth album (as well as playing Field Day and Roskilde), Neil Halstead tells Joe Clay about the gateway albums that influenced him the most. Photo by Ingrid Pop.

The Jesus & Mary Chain – PsychocandyI first heard Psychocandy in 1985 and thought it was really amazing – different. It got me into alternative music. It was the gateway that opened the doors to all this other music. I loved the image and I loved the way the guitars sounded. Plus no one else in my school was into it, apart from Rachel. She was already ahead of me then. She was a bit of a goth and was into The Smiths, Southern Death Cult and stuff like that. We started The Pumpkin Fairies around that time. We went from doing covers of Simple Minds and The Cult to realising we could do something else with guitars. It was a period of discovering bands like Tallulah Gosh, The Primitives and The Shop Assistants, getting into The Velvet Underground and starting to read NME and Melody Maker. That was the start of the music education for me. The Jesus & Mary Chain were like a bomb exploding in my adolescent head. It excited me. I loved the attitude. It's that classic pop moment when you're a kid.

If you love our features, news and reviews, please support what we do with a one-off or regular donation. Year-on-year, our corporate advertising is down by around 90% - a figure that threatens to sink The Quietus. Hit this link to find out more and keep on Black Sky Thinking.